While at the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) conference last week, we had the chance to check out a ton of great products. Luckily, we had our 6 year old special correspondent, Tatum, with us to help find the best ones. One of Tatum’s favorite things at NAESP was TheO SmartBall:
TheO SmartBall is an incredibly unique device:
TheO Smartball combines a sturdy foam ball with dedicated mobile apps to encourage kids and adults to get moving, share interactive personal connections and play experiences, and have fun in the process. Players toss, bounce and roll the ball with the smart device safely secured inside. The foam ball protects the device and allows for a variety of movement-based games.
All apps take advantage of the unique features of smart devices such as acceleration sensing, direction, and motion sensing, plus sound, voice recognition and Bluetooth capabilities1
There are a bunch of apps that take advantage of TheO SmartBall. All of which are meant to make learning a more physical, and engaging activity:
Current apps use the unique features of smart devices to bring a new level of play to mobile gaming. The initial apps are fun for the entire family and include a Bowling game where players can play each other in the same room, displayed on the smart phone, or any IP-enabled device, or with friends across the web. Additional custom apps include a physically active Hot Potato game and a socially interactive game called Interrogo. A wide variety of custom mobile app games are in development. They all take advantage of the unique features of smart devices such as acceleration sensing, direction and motion sensing, plus sound and Bluetooth capabilities, allowing TheO to link with additional accessories. 2
Our 6 year old special correspondent had a chance to play with the ball, and to ask the Physical Apps team a few questions:
